SANDY, Utah — It was a convention for master LEGO builders, young and old. The annual Brickslopes event this past weekend at Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy brought in hundreds of people. Organizers of the convention, now in its 12th year, said they hope the attendees were wowed and inspired to get even more creative in their own projects at home.
There was even a celebrity at the event: Rebecca Maxfield from Lehi, who is a semi-finalist on the hit TV show LEGO Masters.
"Oh, it’s so fun! It’s so fun to talk to people. They’re like, 'Oh, it’s real, and your hair is real!'" Rebecca said, even being approached by fans during her interview Sunday with FOX 13 News.
"We had so much fun on our semi-final build. It’s the greatest ball contraption — LEGO Masters style," she explained. "They upgraded regular GPC balls to ping pong balls, and right when we got home, my husband whipped up the ball launcher."
Rebecca and her husband Corey recreated something they started in the semifinalist round on season five of the show. It highlighted the four seasons and allowed fans and attendees to interact and drop the ping pong balls into the launcher, and then watch it go from there.
"We’ve been to a lot of conventions, especially this year, and Utah definitely has its own vibe," Rebecca said. "It is designed for the builders and for the community. Nobody’s looking to, like, make money or make this into a giant business. It’s more of just bringing the community together, showing off what you can build and inspiring people."
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PHOTO GALLERY: "Brickslopes" LEGO convention in Sandy
The Coleman family from Layton said this was their third convention they've attended, and they're already looking forward to coming back next year.
"We just love to see people’s creativity, the huge sets," Ali Coleman said. "It’s cool to see the passion. The builders have been doing it their whole life, and they have these great creations. It’s really fun. We have a whole LEGO family. All our kids love LEGOS. We build probably every day!"
Nine-year-old Jackson said he doesn't use kits or instructions but likes to just grab a bunch of LEGO pieces and use his imagination to create something.
"I just love how you can really be creative and build whatever you want," he said.
His dad, Brian, said it's a family affair.
"I’m a computer programmer and I love fitting pieces together to make programs work, and it’s very similar to LEGOS — you have all these pieces and it’s like, 'What do I want to make them do or look like?' And then it all fits together and looks nice."
"We are one of the very few recognized LEGO conventions in the world," said showrunner Brian Benson from Herriman. "Everything from the mechanical, great ball contraptions, to mosaic art pieces, to a 25-foot recreation of the Berlin Wall."
Benson says you can expect them back again next August.
